Alex Caruso has agreed to a four-year, $81 million contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to ESPN. The contract represents the most the Thunder can legally pay Caruso, and the two sides needed to wait six months after his acquisition via trade for a deal of this size to be legal. The Caruso-for-Josh Giddey trade became official on June 21, meaning six months passed on Saturday and the deal was announced a day later on Sunday.
The Caruso trade has thus far paid significant dividends for an Oklahoma City team having one of the greatest defensive seasons in NBA history. Caruso currently leads the NBA in defensive goal percentage allowed, and he ranks seventh in deflections per game and 10th in steals despite playing only 20 minutes per game. Oklahoma City allows a ludicrously low 95.8 points per 100 possessions with Caruso on the floor this season, and while he's shooting an underwhelming 27% on 3-pointers, he was above 40% last season and grew into a reliably average marksman during his time with the Chicago Bulls.
Notably, this deal represents the first major expenditure for the Thunder that extends into the 2026-27 season. That's important because it is when Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are expected to re-sign for max contracts. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also making the max, this is when the Thunder will first become expensive and have to start thinking about the aprons as they relate to team-building decisions.
The Thunder have been planning for this eventuality for some time. Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams all have team options for the 2026-27 season. Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe both re-signed with the Thunder last offseason, but did so on relatively cheap contracts that descend in annual value with each passing year. Everyone else of note is still on a rookie contract, and the Thunder still have one of the deepest war chests of future draft picks in all of basketball.
Oklahoma City will be able to keep a deep roster together even when they're paying Williams and Holmgren max money, but things will be harder at that point. Tough decisions will be made, but this contract suggests that the Thunder are hoping to keep Caruso around even when belt-tightening time arrives.
